2017-18 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season (HT, IBrian, IMacman252, Andy, Steve, and HurricaneKiddie)
Please do not edit without permission from HT, Andy, Steve, and HurricaneKiddie! The 2017-18 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season is expected to be relatively active. It officially began on November 15, 2017, and it will end on May 15, 2018, dates which conventionally delimit the timeframe for tropical cyclogenesis. Timeline ImageSize = width:1000 height:200 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:20 left:20 Legend = columns:3 left:30 top:58 columnwidth:270 AlignBars = early DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/11/2017 till:01/05/2018 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = grid:black unit:month increment:1 start:01/11/2017 Colors = id:canvas value:gray(0.88) id:GP value:red id:TD value:rgb(0.38,0.73,1) legend:Tropical_Depression_(TD) id:TS value:rgb(0,0.98,0.96) legend:Moderate_Tropical_Storm_(MTS) id:ST value:rgb(0.80,1,1) legend:Severe_Tropical_Storm_(STS) id:TC value:rgb(1,1,0.80) legend:Tropical_Cyclone_(TC) id:IT value:rgb(1,0.76,0.25) legend:Intense_Tropical_Cyclone_(ITC) id:VI value:rgb(1,0.38,0.38) legend:Very_Intense_Tropical_Cyclone_(VITC) Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = barset:Hurricane bar:Month PlotData= barset:Hurricane width:11 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till from:14/11/2017 till:18/11/2017 color:TS text:Andrew (MTS) from:25/11/2017 till:30/11/2017 color:ST text:Bonnie (STS) from:01/12/2017 till:02/12/2017 color:TD text:03 (STD) from:04/12/2017 till:11/12/2017 color:TC text:Carlo (TC) from:09/12/2017 till:14/12/2017 color:TC text:Diana (TC) barset:break from:13/12/2017 till:24/12/2017 color:IT text:Erick (ITC) from:21/12/2017 till:25/12/2017 color:ST text:Flossie (STS) from:02/01/2018 till:23/01/2018 color:VI text:Gordon (VITC) from:05/01/2018 till:13/01/2018 color:TC text:Helen (TC) from:12/01/2018 till:14/01/2018 color:TS text:Romeo-Isaac (MTS) barset:break from:18/01/2018 till:20/01/2018 color:TD text:James (TD) from:23/01/2018 till:24/01/2018 color:TD text:12 (STD) barset:skip from:29/01/2018 till:18/02/2018 color:VI text:Lorenzo (VITC) from:04/02/2018 till:25/02/2018 color:VI text:Maria (VITC) barset:break from:11/02/2018 till:03/03/2018 color:VI text:Nate (VITC) from:19/02/2018 till:08/03/2018 color:VI text:Athena-Ophelia (VITC) from:23/02/2018 till:04/03/2018 color:IT text:Pat (ITC) from:02/03/2018 till:01/04/2018 color:VI text:Quinn (VITC) bar:Month width:5 align:center fontsize:S shift:(0,-20) anchor:middle color:canvas from:01/11/2017 till:01/12/2017 text:November from:01/12/2017 till:01/01/2018 text:December from:01/01/2018 till:01/02/2018 text:January from:01/02/2018 till:01/03/2018 text:February from:01/03/2018 till:01/04/2018 text:March from:01/04/2018 till:01/05/2018 text:April TextData = pos:(569,23) text:"(For further details, please see" pos:(713,23) text:"scales)" Storms Moderate Tropical Storm Andrew Andrew did not affect land. Severe Tropical Storm Bonnie Bonnie did not affect land. Subtropical Depression 03 Subtropical Depression 03 did not affect land. Tropical Cyclone Carlo Carlo slammed into Madagascar as a Category 1 cyclone, killing eight and causing $900,000 (2018 USD) in losses from heavy rainfall. Tropical Cyclone Diana Diana did not affect land. Intense Tropical Cyclone Erick Erick did not affect land. Severe Tropical Storm Flossie Flossie did not affect land. Very Intense Tropical Cyclone Gordon Gordon slammed into Madagascar near Vatomandry as a very strong Category 5 cyclone before hitting Mozambique near Beira as a Category 2 cyclone. Severe damage of $18 million (2018 USD) was reported due to numerous landslides and structural failures, especially around Antananarivo, where many people were unprepared for the storm. Approximately 604 people perished during the onslaught of Gordon. The effects of the cyclone were compounded by a train of storms later on in the season. Tropical Cyclone Helen Helen did not affect land. Moderate Tropical Storm Romeo-Isaac Isaac was a continuation of Australian Region Tropical Cyclone Romeo. It did not affect land while in the SWIO. Tropical Depression James Operationally deemed a moderate tropical storm, James did not affect land. Subtropical Depression 12 Subtropical Depression 12 did not affect land. Very Intense Tropical Cyclone Lorenzo Lorenzo made landfall near Toamasina, Madagascar as a very strong Category 4 cyclone before crossing the island and striking Quelimane, Mozambique as a Category 3 cyclone. A storm surge of up to 20 feet (6.1 meters) inundated Madagascar's eastern coast, submerging Toamasina, Vatomandry, and dozens of other cities underwater. The rugged terrain of the nation effectively soaked water right out of Lorenzo, causing flash flood problems even inland, namely in Antananarivo, where cars were floating on top of six feet (1.83 meters) of water. Further west, in Mozambique, a storm surge of 16 feet (4.88 meters) caused serious effects as far south as Beira and as far north as Nacala, sweeping away homes, trees, and people like a broom. Unthinkable damage was reported even in Zimbabwe, where buildings were twisted like Twizzlers in Harare. Overall, $98.2 million (2018 USD) and roughly 1,782 people perished during the onslaught of Lorenzo; this was compounded by later cyclones. Very Intense Tropical Cyclone Maria Maria, taking a relatively similar path to Lorenzo, added on to its lethal effects. A second storm surge of 32 feet (9.76 meters) flooded almost all of the eastern Madagascar coast once more and rainfall nearing 84 inches (7 feet, 2.13 meters) fell in central Madagascar. This was extremely serious for Antananarivo, where sinkholes clustered the city and Lake Anosy swelled to nearly as large as the central buisness district of the city. Even worse, in Mozambique, a storm surge of 23 feet (7.01 meters) and gusts in excess of 230 mph (265 knots, 370 km/h) sent whole chunks of hills cascading into villages through major landslides, burying thousands alive. Floods and destruction were a problem even for Malawi and Zimbabwe, where the terrain was described as being "nuked" by a hurricane. Since many structures were not designed to survive storms like Maria, this meant horrendous consequences for Southeastern Africa. Overall, fatalities are estimated to be around 3,657 deaths, with losses around $435 million (2018 USD). Very Intense Tropical Cyclone Veruca-Nate Nate was a continuation of Australian Region Tropical Cyclone Veruca. Similar to Lorenzo and Maria, Nate aimed straight westwards for Madagascar, making landfall near Mananjary as an exceptionally devastating Category 5 cyclone. Already badly soaked from the previous storms, the ground simply could not tolerate the rainfall nearing 100 inches (30.49 meters) from the storm, nor the surge of 48 feet (14.63 meters) which inundated some of the coastal cities permanently. As a result, massive lakes formed around the coast, and further inland, whole mountains came crashing down to the shoreline along with everything on them. As Nate transversed the nation, many highways were blocked by liquified soil, halting the recovery efforts attempted. As the cyclone emerged into the Mozambique Channel, it turned southwest right towards Maputo, the national capital of Mozambique. The large size of the system meant strong waves and gusts were flattening houses, trees, cars, and people in the area like dough long before landfall occurred. By the time Nate arrived onshore, a storm surge of 55 feet (16.77 meters) had breached the entire African coast from Durban, South Africa to Beira, rendering whole communities "forever uninhabitable". In Maputo, Nate's gusts of 315+ mph (275 knots, 505 km/h) crushed skyscrapers, hurled ships into the city, and caused Maputo Bay to connect with the Mozambique Channel. The city was battered for a few days on end described as something "from one's worse nightmare" from locals. Nearly 95% of Maputo was annihilated by the surge and winds Nate brought ashore. In nearby Swaziland, very heavy rainfall nearing 60 inches (5 feet, 1.52 meters) swelled the Maputo and Mbuluzi Rivers with excess runoff water, devastating Lobamba, Mbabane, and other major cities. Nate's gargantuan damage swath made it all the way to Johannesburg, where windows were torn off skyscrapers and numerous sinkholes developed in areas with uneven terrain. All in all, Nate caused damages of $1.6 billion (2018 USD) and roughly 7,468 fatalities. Very Intense Tropical Cyclone Athena-Ophelia Ophelia was a continuation of Australian Region Severe Tropical Cyclone Athena. It first slammed into Réunion as a major Category 4 cyclone with gusts of 175 mph (150 knots, 280 km/h). These winds, which blew for hours on end, along with rainfall of over 15 inches (1.25 feet, 0.38 meters), sent massive chunks of Piton de la Fournaise and Piton des Niges crashing through the forests, decimating all objects in its path. Moreover, many skyscrapers and apartments were left crooked or bent in Saint-Denis and other coastal cities, where looting became a serious problem in Ophelia's aftermath. Next, the unthinkable beast clipped the southern tip of Madagascar as a very intense Category 5 system. A storm surge of 47 feet (14.33 meters), along with gusts of nearly 260 mph (225 knots, 420 km/h), further added on the soil completely wrecked by earlier cyclones. Damage was reported as far north as Antananarivo, where dismembered tree branches were snapped off like breaking rubber bands. After crossing the Mozambique Channel, Ophelia made landfall at peak intensity over what had been Maputo, permanently submerging what was left of the city with a storm surge of 64 feet (19.51 meters). Further inland, across Mozambique, Swaziland, and South Africa rainfall rates exceeding 90 inches (7.5 feet, 2.29 meters) soaked to the ground to the point lakes as large as Lake Ontario formed and whole mountains came crashing down, devastating Mbabne, Lobamba, and other major cities once again across the area. In Johannesburg, despite not being situated by a body of water, gusts well beyond 350 mph (305 knots, 565 km/h) blew down entire neighborhoods, namely shanty towns, left the city botanical gardens looking like something out of a nuclear testing site, and collapsed many vital freeways. Although the United Nations sent over 5,000 pounds of food and 10,000 troops to assist recovery in Johannesburg, Cyclone Quinn later on compounded Ophelia's effects. Fortunately, from here onwards, Ophelia tracked over rural regions of South Africa, harming only cattle and causing moderate damage in national parks. On March 8, the cyclone emerged into the South Atlantic as a dying tropical depression, dissipating only a day later. Nevertheless, 76,432 fatalities and $2.8 billion (2018 USD) in losses were reported in the aftermath of Ophelia. Intense Tropical Cyclone Pat Pat was a strong tropical cyclone which, fortunately, did not affect land. Very Intense Tropical Cyclone Quinn Quinn was the absolute most powerful storm in the basin on record, reaching the equivalent of hypercane intensity as it completely demolishes places in Madagascar and South Africa. (Andrew can add more detail to this description and add the rest) Storm names Category:Future storms Category:2017-18 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season Category:Tropical cyclones Category:Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone seasons Category:Strong Storms